D&D: Designs, Drafting, Discussion, and Dragon+ Pt. 1
It takes a lot to transform an idea from concept to rules mechanic–and earlier this week, Jeremy Crawford, lead rules designer for D&D sat down with the folks at Dragon+ to talk about the D&D design process. So let’s peek behind the screen and see what makes both Dungeons and Dragons.
Join Jeremy Crawford on the Dragon+ vodcast today to hear him talk about the design of Dungeons and Dragons. As Lead Rules designer, he talks a lot about what the D&D design process is like, and how they take an idea from concept to completion. It’s a process with many steps, and often in a looping, non-linear order–so before we get to the real meat of seeing examples of how they design an element for the game, let’s take a look at the philosophy behind it. Well actually, first let’s take a look at the video.
via Wizards of the Coast
Watch Jeremy Crawford on Design and Dragon+
One of the biggest takeaways from this is the purpose of D&D’s design. It’s not a question of making things balanced combat-wise — and especially for PVP against one another. It’s a question of what can be done with any given design element. The Order Domain, for instance, has been an idea kicking around since the early design of the 5th Edition player’s handbook.
But the question that drives whether or not they use something is:
Is there anything we can do with this?
Not just regarding mechanics, but regarding where it fits in the game. And where it fits into the stories, they are trying to tell. And that’s the most important thing–how does it fit into the story?
If you’ve been playing 5th Edition (and if you’re reading this I assume you have), then you’ve seen how strongly narrative influences the descriptions of the class, or how it influences spells, etc. But they try to consider how a given element fits into the design of the game. Does it tell a story on its own? Does it sow the seeds for the story at the game table? And that really makes the game pop.
Tune in next time to talk about how they take something like the Order Domain from draft to appearing in Unearthed Arcana–it’s an interesting look at the journey, at the math, and at the story possibilities as they all come together to make the finished product.
Until then, happy adventuring!
